Rocky IV
I know this is an ‘80s classic and everyone loves Rocky vs. the Russian, but it’s pretty far away from who Rocky was and boy, is it stupid. The story is pretty well known. Russian super-boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) kills Apollo Creed in an exhibition bout, so Rocky goes to Russia to fight him for revenge. I’m not sure what exactly the plan was going to be. Was Rocky trying to commit murder too? Nah, just honor his friend’s legacy, or something. It was the Cold War, Stallone was being political.
So far, all the Rocky movies reflected Stallone as a person, but Rocky IV is much more a representation of ‘80s action movies. In that sense it is more of a singular movie in itself. It happens to be called Rocky IV but we shouldn’t take that literally to mean it succeeds Rocky I-III. At the very least, it is a diversion, an experiment where Stallone tested whether his creation could be a political allegory as well. It worked out for him, making Rocky IV the most successful in the series.
There was a Red Scare, and sports were a metaphor, but the fear of a foreigner invading our country through athletics sure seems stupid now. Or at least the fear that the foreigner would be so strong or enhanced that he would murder our fighters seems extreme. It’s not like we were good sports about it either. That whole James Brown performance of “Living in America” wasn’t very welcoming of the visiting athlete from Russia.
I know Apollo had an ego but I find it a little hard to buy that he was a lazy fighter. He didn’t do any prep or research on his opponent. I would think having such a big ego, he would do anything to make sure he won the fight. Did he learn nothing from Rocky’s lackadaisical training for his first Clubber Lang bout? Also, I know accidents happen in sports, but Drago actually says he doesn’t care if he’s killed a man with the famous line, “If he dies, he dies.”
I suppose the consistent theme is that Rocky’s a fighter, so all he can do is fight. Adrian actually tells him he can’t win, which is the least supportive we’ve ever seen her. It provides a moment where Stallone can play that male ego again, where he needs to prove something even to his loving wife.
The ‘80s music rocks and the training montages are awesome, with Rocky’s makeshift training equipment versus Drago’s high tech modern machines. That really puts Rocky in the Clubber Lang role, but nothing is made of that potential parallel. The Drago fight is more of a boss battle, in that Rocky is knocked down way more times than is legal, but as long as he doesn’t die, he’s poised for a comeback.
However Stallone is also trying to say something about changing politics, with his big speech about if he can change, you can change and we all can change. It’s a nice thought but I don’t see where any of this changing happened. The Russian audience started rooting for him, so I guess he realized they’re not so bad? But hey, America!
No review of Rocky IV would be complete without the true story from my nine-year-old theatrical viewing of Rocky IV. As a kid, the film was really pumping me up, so midway through the movie I turned to my friend and said, “Do you want to play Rocky when this is over?” I should have clarified my definition of “play” because as soon as the movie was over, walking out of the theater, my friend punched me in the face for real. When I complained, he said, “I thought you wanted to play Rocky.” My heavyweight career ended that day, though I did fight back tears successfully, so I still won.
